In a typical process control environment, fluid lines, tanks, reservoirs, etc. need to be continually monitored and controlled in terms of pressure, flow rate, temperature, fluid level, pressure drop, etc. Such process control environments include myriad examples such as, but not limited to, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper factories, dairies, food and chemical processing plants, and the like.
To properly maintain such facilities, various tools are often employed in an automated fashion. Valves and regulators control flow to and from areas of the process control environment. Such valves and regulators may receive control signals from sensors within the system monitoring flow rate, temperatures, pressures, levels, etc., or may receive control signals from a central processing unit coordinating operation of the entire system.
Under current technologies, the selection of the various process control instruments used in such systems is a time consuming, repetitive, and subjective process. Using flow rate, for example, in the selection of flow meters, the user is often only provided with tabulated numerical data for a particular flow meter under one set of operating conditions. If the customer has a specific process control application to address, the selection process typically requires intensive interaction between a representative of a flow meter manufacturer and one or more engineers from the process control facility.
Such a process is typically performed in person or over the telephone and involves numerous background questions, a series of calculations, a review of the types of flow meters available, and a cost benefit analysis of each. The questions may be directed to the type of fluid being metered, the size and length of the piping to and from the flow meter, the desired accuracy, the cost range, the pressure, temperature, and density under which the fluid flows, as well as other considerations. Based on such information, calculations are then performed, often manually, to determine the size and responsiveness of the flow meter required. Once that information is obtained, the types and manufacturers of the flow meters which are capable of handling the situation are reviewed, and finally a review of the cost of each available apparatus is undertaken.
Recently, elementary software programs have become available which allow for preliminary levels of review. However, such systems typically only serve as an information gathering tool for a particular manufacturer, and result in a particular model or model number being recommended. Little or no justification is provided as to why the particular model has been recommended, nor is sufficient quantitative or comparative analysis provided to enable the user to make an informed decision.
Moreover, such programs only address one type of process control apparatus at a time. If the user wishes to compare various types of flow meters, e.g., Coriolis, vortex, magnetic, thermal mass, ultrasonic, and differential pressure meters, separate entries of information and separate sets of calculations must be made for each. Even after such separate calculations are made, the burden remains with the customer to actually compare the garnered information.
Further detracting from current systems is their inability to allow purchases to made based on such software generated information. Instead, purchases of such process control apparatus can only be made through conventional channels.